


Open Mind/Open Heart

by TranscendentSoul



Series: IronPanther Ideas [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: IronPanther - Relationship - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:10:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7320241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentSoul/pseuds/TranscendentSoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kings are often felled by those closest to them and even in a country like Wakanda, loyalty isn't universal. To protect the King of Wakanda's heart, the Panther God grants one boon. </p><p>That changes everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Open Mind/Open Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vrishchika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vrishchika/gifts).



> I'm not that good at writing fanfiction but my sister Vrishchika loves this pairing. She's been through a very trying time so I decided to write this for her. The plots I write are all her ideas and I've taken some inspiration from the wonderful Oky_Verlo.
> 
> It's a little hastily written on my iPad, so if there are any errors, forgive me. I have a flight to catch in a few hours so I'm posting this now and will check for errors to edit after I reach home. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!

**Open Mind/Open Heart**

 

**Part One**

 

T’Challa didn’t really expect it when he walked into Tony’s lab. He could hear a constant stream of chatter filled with curses, half sentences, obscure scientific terms, and sarcasm, but he had no reason to suspect anything unusual. 

 

He paused as soon as he stepped to the lab and looked at Tony, his keen eyes taking in the strong tanned arms, the competent fingers, and the messy hair with a small, fond smile. 

 

‘ _ \- alloy would work. The case needs to be- no that’s wrong-needs to be more flexible- perhaps-’ _

 

T’Challa chuckled, immediately catching Tony’s attention and the man jumped in his seat.

 

“What the hell! Kitty cat-” ‘ _ Holy shit, that-did I break something- _ ’ “Someone needs to put a bell on you-” ‘ _ That’d be sexy-a bell collar?- _ ’ “What’re you doing here, anyways? Did we have an appointment?”  _ ‘Did I miss somethi- _ ’

 

T’Challa froze, his eyes focused on Tony’s face as he realized half of the words that we had spoken didn’t come from the man’s mouth. 

 

“Are you-” ‘ _ Why’s he looking so… dazed? What’s wrong? Is he hurt? _ ’ Tony’s eyes roamed all over his body, “Everything alright there, buddy?” ‘ _ He doesn’t look hurt, but he was dealing that mutant- He looks like he about to faint! _ ’ The genius stood abruptly, “Hey, what’s wrong?” ‘ _ Holy… he looks ashen… how can he look like that- is it blood loss?- Oh, God, did the mutant have powers we didn’t know?- but he looks unhurt. No injuries. Not like him to come unannounced- something’s wrong, he looks stunned, why would he look stunned? _ ’

 

When those words started to take on a distinctly panicked tone, T’Challa quickly shook himself out of his surprise. “Nothing’s wrong… I’m well-” The press of Tony’s thoughts was enormous and his disbelief blatant. “Nothing, I just haven’t eaten today so I feel quite peaked.” He assured to ease those frantic thoughts. He look a deep breath and calmed his mind but even as he did that, he started to process what had happened.

 

Tony had opened his mind to him.

 

‘ _ Why… is he looking at me like that? _ ’ Those words were soft, uncertain, but there was no denying that Tony didn’t speak them. “Is there something on my face, your feline highness?” ‘ _ He needs to eat- what do I have in the kitchen? Friday- _ ’ “Fri, order two large pepperonis.” ‘ _ That’s done, now what- Please be ok-did you get hurt on the mission? What aren’t you telling me, T’Challa- _ ’

 

The king resisted the urge to answer to those mental questions and smiled softly, “Nothing, I just have never seen you so unkempt. Quite fitting and interesting.” 

 

‘ _ That smile- _ ’ “Yeah, these are my usual threads, king of kittens.” Tony’s normal voice was sharp and confident, but the inner voice was soft, almost musical. A singer’s voice. ‘ _ He’s being weird- but doesn’t look dazed anymore- must be really hungry, huh? _ ’ Was his thought as they walked into the living room.

 

T’Challa laced his fingers behind his back when they itched for the man and pushed away the smile that begged to cross his lips. It was too early. Tony wasn’t aware and T’Challa needed to be careful.

 

But what a gracious, precious blessing he had just received. 

 

Tony’s thoughts soon dimmed in volume as he has suspected they would. All books and articles he read told him that it would be loud for the first few moments to catch attention but after that, it’ll be unobtrusive. Nevertheless, Tony’s mental voice had a beautiful, loving cadence. 

 

T’Challa soon lost himself in the flow of those voices. He responded when needed, but remained silent for the most part as they consumed the pizza and relaxed on the couch.

 

‘ _ He’s being unusually inattentive- _ ’ Tony’s thoughts took on that soft, worried tone again, ‘ _ But he looks… relaxed… peaceful- I don’t know- _ ’ “Kitty cat, are you paying attention or did I finally manage to bore you to sleep? Do you sleep with your eyes awake?” ‘ _ Wouldn’t I love to know- _ ’

 

T’Challa chuckled, leveling a warmly amused look at the man before him, “No, I do not.” He answered, though he had been tempted to flirt a little. “And forgive me, I- would you mind if I just listen and not speak?”

 

Tony arched a brow, surprised by the request but he conceded easily enough. That music was back, the strange mix of Tony’s real voice and the soft whisper of his thoughts. T’Challa didn’t really focus on the words, just on the sound as he leaned back and closed his eyes, basking in the odd song. 

 

Basking in Tony’s love. 

 

He didn’t know how long he sat there but eventually Tony’s real voice faded away and T’Challa was just left with the whispers of his thoughts. Engineering formulas and mechanical alterations started to crowd his mind but Tony seemed to just let them pass through. T’Challa marveled at it, feeling for the first time just how brilliant that mind was. It was multitasking… which he had considered impossible but there were several different, individual streams of thought running at the same time. He was completely enthralled by their flow. 

 

Tony’s mind was chaotic and eager but the man himself was utterly calm, the flow of this thoughts was smoothly, uninterrupted. 

 

This spoke of years of endurance. He couldn’t imagine how difficult this must have been for a young Tony, in his fragile childhood and adolescent years. Perhaps his parents and teachers had helped him cope. 

 

Eventually the mental voice dimmed as well and T’Challa opened his eyes to peer down at the dark head head close to his shoulder. His fingers itched once again and this time he didn’t resist. Tentatively, he combed through the silky hair and shifted a little understand the genius’ head was resting against his shoulder. 

 

Tony stilled for a moment and T’Challa feared he might pull away, might deny his touch but he simply hummed lightly under his breath and drifted off to sleep. 

 

The Wakadan King understood how unprecedented this display of trust was and simply enjoyed it. He’d worry about courtship and other such matters at a later date.

 

* * *

 

Tony knew something had changed but he just couldn’t place a finger on it. T’Challa had always been polite and respectful during their interactions. There was no indication that Cap’s or Barton’s opinions about Tony influenced the King in any way. The man still supported Tony on the accords, still worked with him to improve them. 

 

But something had changed ever since that mission. T’Challa came back after dealing that out-of-control and distraught mutant with no visible injuries, but he had behaved so strangely. Tony  _ knew _ he shouldn’t have let the man go alone but Peter was still not ready, Rhodey still hadn’t mastered his legs, and Tony had been busy with back-to-back meetings that day. 

 

Vision had volunteered to go but T’Challa had insisted he’d be able to handle it and by all appearances, he had. The mutant was secured and was sent to Professor Awesome and his mutant version of Hogwarts. Which reminds him, he needs to speak with the Professor-

 

But anyways, T’Challa was different now. He was quieter and seemed to prefer Tony's voice for some reason. The genius would've been offended that T’Challa fell asleep in his presence but it was so rare for the King to let his guard down that he didn’t mind. In fact, it gave in the opportunity to observe him without being noticed by the freakishly perceptive Panther. 

 

Their interactions had changed and there was a new softness about T’Challa that hadn't been there before… it felt nice. It was like some invisible barrier between them had collapsed and now they could finally talk. 

 

And talk they did. They spoke on scientific theories, mechanics, computer programing, biotechnology, and every other subject under the sun. The length and breadth of T’Challa’s knowledge and intelligence boggled the mind because there were very few people who could actually keep up with him like that. Tony’s knowledge was expansive because he never limited himself to physics and engineering. He could jump from one topic to another at lightspeed. Bruce and Reed were the only ones he could think of… well there was Charles, but he was a telepath, so it was cheating. 

 

Back to the point- T’Challa was keeping up and wasn’t that so fucking sexy? He kinda wanted to marry the Panther’s brain-

 

He jumped and looked at T’Challa quizzically as he choked on his drink, “Kitty-cat, you alright there?”

 

T’Challa leveled and amused look,  “You have a very expressive face.” His voice sounded almost… fond? Tony squinted at the King, feeling like he had missed something. T’Challa was definitely amused, even though he was trying his damn best not to show it. Those luscious lips-

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tony demanded when T’Challa choked on his drink again. He reached forward and snatched the tumbler from the guy’s hands. Obviously, something in the drink didn’t agree with him. He peered down at the thin suspiciously, resisting the urge to sniff it to figure out what was wrong with it.  He didn’t want his kitty cat to choke-

 

T’Challa cleared his throat,  drawing Tony's attention and, “ _ Oh wow, _ ” He didn’t know how to explain it, but it had been a long time since anyone had looked at him like that… with so much…  _ happiness _ . 

 

T’Challa’s eyes had always been beautiful, brimming with life, gentle confidence, and wisdom. But now, they looked so  _ joyful _ and fond. There was a glow in them when he looked at Tony, like he was seeing something worthwhile, something  _ precious _ . 

 

Tony didn’t know what to think, “I’ll get you something else to drink.” He murmured and hastily fled the room, his heart pounding in his chest. T’Challa was too perceptive for Tony to slip  _ now _ . 

 

He had too few real friends to lose the Wakandan King because of his foolishness. 

 

He braced himself against the bar counter and took a few deep breaths. It was easier when T’Challa was friendly but aloof. It was easy when Tony thought that the King wasn’t too fond of him, but there was too much evidence otherwise now for him to be in denial. 

 

He hadn’t forgotten the feeling of T’Challa fingers running through his hair or the strength of his shoulder. He didn’t forget how he woke up next morning after the first full night’s sleep in ages to see the King with his dark gaze firmly affixed on Tony. 

 

There was something lazy and predatory in those eyes then. It was like T’Challa could read every frantic thought that ran through his mind when he woke up in his own bed… knowing that T’Challa  _ had _ to have carried him there. That he  _ had _ to have given himself permission to stay in Tony’s room rather than leave.

 

At that moment, T’Challa had been brazen and confident in ways he had never been before and Tony didn’t know how to interpret that. 

 

He  _ really  _ didn’t know what to think. Perhaps it was good that T’Challa was leaving the the next day.

* * *

“Brother.” Shuri greeted him as she walked into the room. T’Challa kept his gaze focused the scenery outside the window. His home had always been a source of comfort and security to him, but now it felt… incomplete. He had not expect it to be so difficult to leave Tony behind and return home.  “You’ve been distracted of late.” She said softly as she came to stand by him. “Did something happen in America? Mr. Stark informed me that you had met with an out-of-control mutant.” 

 

T’Challa waved his hand dismissively, “The mission was a mere trifle.” He murmured, crossing his arms. He glanced at her with an arched brow, “Tony informs you of my missions?”

 

She dipped her head elegantly, “Indeed he does. He has since you were injured on your third visit to America.” She smiled mysteriously, “I confess I do enjoy our talks. He has a very keen sense of humor and a unique way of seeing life. I quite like how well our friendship has developed.”

 

T’Challa felt a deep ache for Tony settle in him at her words. “That he does…” He murmured before deciding to seek her advice, “Shuri… do you recall what father spoke of Mind Song?” 

 

Shuri looked at him sharply, her eyes narrowed. “Brother-” He glanced at her and arched a brow and she was forced to bite back her instinctual questions and suspicions. “It’s a gift from the Panther God.” She said softly, leaning against the window and keeping her gaze focused on his face. “It’s given to every Black Panther at the time of ascension. When a person opens their heart in selfless love, the Black Panther can read it. The voice of their  _ beloved’s  _ thoughts is like a song, sweet and gentle. The ability is only temporary and will last until the bond is finalized.”  

 

T’Challa’s lips quirked up in a smile, “Sweet and gentle… such an inadequate description, my dear sister.”

 

Her eyes widened and she leaned forward, “You hear it.” She breathed, amazed, “You hear the Mind Song.”

 

T’Challa uncrossed his arms and placed his hand on the glass before him, his smile wistful. “It’s glorious.” He confessed softly, “Like the whisper of wind amongst trees and full of love.” He chuckled, “My name never leaves his mouth, Shuri, but in his mind he speaks it often. He speaks it as though it’s the most precious and dear to him.”

 

Shuri did some quick calculations in her head but she already knew the answer. There was only one person it could possibly because there was only one person her brother had confessed to love. 

 

Suddenly, her day was so much brighter, “It’s Mr.Stark.” She breathed, “This is a blessing!”

 

T’Challa smiled, “Indeed he is.” He agreed, peering at the forest beyond the window once again. “He has such a fragile heart, Shuri that I dare not approach him. He’s wary of me… of my actions and affections. He was wounded by Mr. Rogers, I can see that now.”

 

Shuri grimaced, “I don’t know why you still insist on harboring them, T’Challa, especially under these circumstances. You realize that Mr. Stark will have to come here?”

 

T’Challa sighed, “All is not certain, Shuri. Tony is… love isn’t easy for him, even though his very soul sings for me. He won’t accept this willingly or easily.” He knew his beloved enough to understand this. “I see his mind, I see how much he wishes for my company, for my  _ touch _ .” He closed his eyes and savored in the memory of that sweet longing, “But… if I had not this power, I would’ve never seen it. The evidence of his feelings not present in his actions and expressions.” Which was very telling, given how expressive Tony was. 

 

Shuri looked at him keenly for a moment before she sighed, “You and I both know that Mr. Stark learned to control his public persona at a very young age. And from what I can gather, Mr. Rogers…  _ difference in opinion _ isn’t the first betrayal he has faced from a person he trusted.”

 

T’Challa’s shoulders sagged a little in dismay at the reminder. “But,” Her voice took on a teasing edge, “When have you  _ ever _ backed away from a challenge?” He looked at her in surprise. “T’Challa, you’ve already won Mr. Stark’s heart.” She pointed out, “If his affections for you weren’t pure and true, you wouldn’t have heard his mind. That is what the Panther God’s gift means. It’s a tool for you to use so you already have an advantage that most suitors don’t. Why hesitate?”

 

T’Challa thought about it as Shuri smiled and headed towards the door. She was right. When had he  _ ever _ backed away from a challenge, especially in matters as serious as this? If Tony held so much affection for him so as to open his mind and if his affection was pure enough to gain the Panther God’s approval, was T’Challa right to hesitate? 

 

“Oh, T’Challa-” He turned to look at his sister from over his shoulder, “I suggest you do not waste time. Wakanda can run without you while you court the future King Consort and  _ I _ would dearly love to have another brother, especially one as delightful as Mr. Stark.”

 

T’Challa chuckled as his mischievous sister shut the door pointedly and left him to ponder the situation. 

 

As he peered at the forest once again, he realized that she was right. Wakanda could certainly survive without him for a few months, especially with Shuri in charge. She was no less competent than he was, after all. If she faced any problems, he was just a phone call away. 

 

His priority needed to be Tony now. If he gave the genius chance to harden his heart, to deny his love, the man would take it. 

 

Winning Tony’s companionship won’t be easy and it would require more than sentiment and honesty. It would require  _ strategy _ . 

 

After all, love wasn’t the problem here. 


End file.
